Throughout the month of June, the Huntsville Art League’s 2014 Student Perceptions Art Show Features Calhoun CC and UAH Artists ― Join Us for a Reception Friday, June 13 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Get to know the works of Jo Petersen and Naomi Traynor….

One came late to the canvas, a retiree who picked up a paintbrush, began studying first under Nancy Hougland, and later under Kathryn Vaughn at Calhoun Community College (CCC), where she discovered oils and watercolors awakened her soul. The other is a 2014 graduate of the University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH) School of Fine Arts and Drawing, who instinctively knew the intricacies of lighting, geometric arrangement, repeating forms, and rhythm of line.

The Huntsville Art League is featuring the works of both CCC’s Jo Petersen and UAH’s Naomi Traynor in their 2014 Student Perceptions Art Show open to the public throughout the month of June. These two artists with individual experiences, perceptions, and takeaways, are the perfect examples of boundless diversity in art, as shown not only in their works, but also in their knowledge and attitudes about art.

“You couldn’t find two more different approaches to their work,” says Ann Steverson, publicity chair for the Art League. “Jo admits she appreciated art but never considered drawing or painting at any time in her life until she was introduced to it through computer graphics. Naomi on the other hand, has been so drawn to artistic endeavors that she chose it as a major in college, and has studied the mechanics extensively.”

“I am very drawn to portraits both in the works that I do and the works I am attracted to when I visit a museum or an art gallery,” Jo says. “I am most inspired by the works of Amadeus Modigliani, but my style of portrait is more traditional.”

“My brushwork is a balance between expressive and sometimes ambiguous environments, and precisely-rendered subjects,” says Naomi. “I use the juxtaposition and repetition of color to create an emotional response in the viewer. In my figurative works, this use of color, rhythm, and brushwork add to this response, while lighting and atmosphere add to the aura of a figure and evoke a sense of empathy for the subject.”

According to Jo, releasing her artistic ability was like opening a gift and finding a new world in the box. “I used to look at clouds but now I see them. I used to watch sunsets but now I feel them. I used to hear a bird singing in the tree but now I embrace the tree and whisper to the bird. I look through a window or down an alley and I see a painting waiting to happen.”

Naomi on the other hand, says the exploration of light is an integral part of her work. “How do man-made objects encroach, enhance, or exist independently of forces and elements found in nature? How do man-made light sources act as a surrogate to an actual galactic body viewed from earth, such as the moon, stars, etc.?” she says. “Considering our civilization’s love for artificial lighting, sometimes called ‘light pollution’, artificial light evokes a sense of wonder and can hold more familiarity to us than galactic bodies found in traditional or contemporary landscapes.”

Jo Petersen has not yet chosen a favorite medium, and probably never will, “It seems that each subject tells me in what medium it should be executed,” she says. Seven of her works are featured in the Student Perceptions Art Show: The Mooresville is oil on canvas; Winds Across New Mexico is a pastel; The Buoy, Blue Heron, and Panoramic are watercolors, and all five are on sale to the public. Her sixth painting entitled The Girl in the Green Hat is featured, but not for sale.

Eight of Naomi’s works are featured and are for sale to the public.

The 2014 Student Perceptions Art Show opens Monday, June 2 and runs for the whole month of June in the 2nd Floor Connector at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment. Please join us for a reception from 5:00 until 8:00 p.m., June 13, 2014.